Psalm 138 is a Psalm of whole-hearted thanksgiving. It is not shallow gratitude for an easy life. It is the prayer of a rescued people, a humbled king, and finally the Church, singing before the angels because the Lord has heard, strengthened the soul, regarded the lowly, and saved by His right hand. The LXX heading connects the Psalm to Haggai and Zechariah, so the thanksgiving is heard after exile, as the temple and worship are restored. The Fathers deepen the Psalm: Augustine reads confession here as praise, not only admission of sin; Theodoret sees the praise of Israel after return from Babylon opening into the nations and kings praising God after the Incarnation.
Psalm 138 (LXX 137) - Before the Angels I Will Sing
Psalm Metadata
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| NKJV / Masoretic numbering | Psalm 138 |
| Septuagint / Coptic numbering | Psalm 137 |
| Accepted author | David in the Hebrew tradition. Brenton’s LXX superscription reads, “A Psalm for David, of Aggaeus and Zacharias.” |
| Period in author’s life | No precise Davidic episode is named. The LXX heading points to the prophetic post-exilic period, and Theodoret interprets the Psalm as thanksgiving after the return from Babylon and help against hostile nations. |
| Christ prophecy status | Typological and ecclesial by fulfillment. The kings of the earth hearing God’s words and singing in His ways opens toward the Gospel going to the nations. Christ is the saving right hand and the One through whom the Church sings before the angels. |
| Coptic lectionary/service use | Verified local rows preserve printed Psalm 138 in Agpeya nighttime prayer, Palm Sunday procession, Great Lent, Holy Fifty Days, and annual fixed-date rows. |
| Numbering issue | This note embeds Brenton LXX Psalm 137. Local rows cited here preserve printed Psalm 138 references, so the project title and local lectionary layer match the printed Psalm number while the embedded LXX text is Psalm 137. |
Historical and Scriptural Context
Psalm 138 stands at the crossing point of Davidic praise, post-exilic restoration, and Gospel mission. The LXX heading, “of Aggaeus and Zacharias,” places the Psalm beside the prophets who encouraged the rebuilding of the temple after return from Babylon. That matters because the Psalm speaks of worship toward the holy temple and thanksgiving after being heard.
Theodoret reads the Psalm historically as Israel giving thanks after return from Babylon and divine rescue from surrounding enemies. He then expands the Psalm beyond the return: when the Psalm says that all the kings of the earth will confess to the Lord, he connects this most fully to the Incarnation, when kings and rulers hear the evangelical preaching and praise the Creator.
The Psalm also belongs naturally to the Church. Its movement is from personal thanksgiving to cosmic and royal praise: the singer thanks God, sings before the angels, worships toward the temple, asks for strengthening in the soul, sees kings confessing, and trusts the Lord’s right hand in affliction. The line “overlook not the works of thine hands” becomes a prayer for God not to abandon His own creation, His Church, and the soul He is shaping.
Geographical Significance ⛰️
The Psalm’s central geography is the temple and the nations. The worshiper faces the holy temple, but the praise is not trapped there. It rises before the angels and spreads to the kings of the earth. This is why the Psalm fits both post-exilic temple restoration and the Gospel mission.
Augustine interprets the temple spiritually: “There is a Church below, there is a Church above also; the Church below, in all the faithful; the Church above, in all the Angels.” The earthly Church sings in communion with the heavenly Church. The Psalm is not private inspiration only; it is liturgical communion.
The Characters 👥
The thankful worshiper. The one who calls and is heard, strengthened in the soul, and saved in affliction.
The angels. The heavenly assembly before whom the singer’s joy is offered.
The holy temple. Historically the place of worship; spiritually the Church below and above.
The kings of the earth. The rulers and nations who hear God’s words and are summoned to confess Him.
The lowly. Those whom the high Lord regards.
The lofty. The proud whom God knows from afar, seen by Him but not near to Him.
The enemies. Those whose wrath cannot separate the faithful from God.
🕯️ Light from the Word
Psalm 137:1-3, whole-hearted confession before the angels
137:1 A Psalm for David, of Aggaeus and Zacharias. I will give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; and I will sing psalms to thee before the angels; for thou hast heard all the words of my mouth.
137:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and give thanks to thy name, on account of thy mercy and thy truth; for thou hast magnified thy holy name above every thing.
137:3 In whatsoever day I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily; thou shalt abundantly provide me with thy power in my soul.
The Psalm begins with confession, but not only confession of sin. Augustine warns that Christians often hear “confess” and immediately think only of guilt. Here confession is praise: “confession in Scripture, when we speak of confession to God, is used in two senses, of sin, and of praise.” The worshiper is not hiding sin, but the first note of this Psalm is thanksgiving.
The phrase “before the angels” changes the scale of worship. Augustine says, “Not before men will I sing, but before the Angels. My song is my joy; but my joy in things below is before men, my joy in things above before the Angels.” The point is not performance but orientation. The soul must ask: am I singing to be seen by people, or am I singing because my joy has been lifted into the heavenly liturgy?
Theodoret’s post-exilic reading adds another layer. The returned people worship toward the temple because mercy and truth have been revealed: mercy in rescue, truth in God’s judgment against wickedness. The soul does the same after repentance. It turns again toward the temple, gives thanks for mercy, and asks to be strengthened not mainly in circumstances but “in my soul.”
St Athanasius says the Psalms give the Church words for the soul’s own prayer, and St Gregory of Nyssa teaches that psalmody trains the soul toward virtue and that the end of the life according to virtue is blessedness. Psalm 138 trains the soul to turn gratitude into worship, not merely relief.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “with my whole heart”; “before the angels”; “thy holy temple”; “power in my soul.”
- Emphasize: true thanksgiving is heavenly-facing and soul-strengthening.
- Avoid: reducing the Psalm to generic gratitude. It is temple worship after rescue and praise before the angels.
Psalm 137:4-6, the kings of the earth and the Lord who regards the lowly
137:4 Let all the kings of the earth, O Lord, give thanks unto thee; for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.
137:5 And let them sing in the ways of the Lord; for great is the glory of the Lord.
137:6 For the Lord is high, and yet regards the lowly; and he knows high things from afar off.
The Psalm widens from one thankful heart to all kings of the earth. In the Old Testament frame, nations hear of God’s mighty works. In the Gospel frame, kings and nations hear the words of God’s mouth through the preaching of Christ. This is why Theodoret says the line is most fully seen after the Incarnation, when rulers hear the evangelical preaching and sing the Creator’s praise.
The kings are not called to use God as an ornament for power. Augustine is blunt: “the more exalted kings are in earthly eminence, the more ought they to humble themselves before God.” The Psalm gives a theology of authority: greatness is safe only when it bows. The Lord is high, yet He regards the lowly. The proud are not invisible to Him, but they are far from Him.
The phrase “he knows high things from afar off” is spiritually severe. Pride does not escape God’s knowledge; it loses God’s nearness. The faithful leader, parent, priest, servant, director, or teacher must hear this. Influence can become a place of worship or a place of exile from God.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “kings of the earth”; “heard all the words”; “sing in the ways”; “regards the lowly.”
- Emphasize: the Gospel calls authority into humility.
- Avoid: treating praise by kings as political triumphalism. The Psalm judges power by humility before God.
Psalm 137:7-8, affliction, the right hand, and the works of God’s hands
137:7 Though I should walk in the midst of affliction, thou wilt quicken me; thou hast stretched forth thine hands against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand has saved me.
137:8 O Lord, thou shalt recompense them on my behalf: thy mercy, O Lord, endures for ever: overlook not the works of thine hands.
The Psalm does not promise a life without affliction. It promises life in the middle of affliction. Augustine names the limit of enemies: “They can take my money, strip, proscribe, banish me; afflict me with grief and tortures; at last, if they be allowed, even kill me: can they do aught more?” Then comes the decisive line: enemies cannot separate the faithful from God.
The right hand that saves is not only an image of power. For Christians, it opens toward Christ, the power and wisdom of God, seated at the right hand of the Father and saving His Body. Theodoret also distinguishes God’s operation against evil from His gracious action toward the rescued. The same Lord judges wickedness and saves the humble.
The final plea, “overlook not the works of thine hands,” is a prayer against despair. The worshiper says: You made me, You restored Your people, You formed Your Church, You began this work; do not abandon what Your hands have made. Paul gives the same hope in Philippians 1:6: He who began a good work will complete it.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “midst of affliction”; “thy right hand has saved me”; “thy mercy endures for ever”; “works of thine hands.”
- Emphasize: God does not only remove affliction; He gives life inside it.
- Avoid: making this Psalm a prosperity promise. The rescue is deeper than comfort.
The Church’s Voice in Worship 📖
Verified local rows preserve printed Psalm 138 in the Agpeya Twelfth Hour and Midnight Prayer Third Watch. This makes spiritual sense: Psalm 138 gives the soul a nighttime pattern of gratitude, examination, humility, and trust that God will not abandon His work.
The Psalm also appears in Palm Sunday procession at Psalm 138:1. The Church sings before the angels as the King enters Jerusalem in humility. The procession is not human pageantry; it is heavenly-facing praise to the humble King.
Great Lent rows use Psalm 138:1 and Psalm 138:2 in the Friday of the fifth week Liturgy, where thanksgiving, mercy, truth, and strengthened inward power belong to the Lenten movement from repentance to illumination. Holy Fifty Days rows use Psalm 138:1 in Tuesday of the seventh week Matins, and the local cycle also preserves Psalm 138:1,3 in Pentecost-related Matins. This places the Psalm’s praise and strengthening of the soul inside Resurrection and Pentecost joy.
Annual fixed-date rows include Hatur 24 Matins, Kiyahk 22 Liturgy, Baramhat 30 Liturgy, Paona 13 Liturgy, and Nasie 3 Liturgy. The common thread is not merely repetition of a favorite verse. The lectionary uses this Psalm where the Church needs whole-hearted thanksgiving, angelic worship, and the confession that the Lord regards the lowly.
Iconography Connection 🖼️
Psalm 138 can be taught with icons of the heavenly liturgy, Christ entering Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple after exile, and Christ Pantocrator surrounded by angels. The visual center should be worship joined to humility: the Church below facing the Church above, kings bowing, and the lowly regarded by the high Lord.
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
- Give thanks with the whole heart. Partial gratitude usually means divided love.
- Sing before the angels, not for display. Let worship be heavenly-facing before it is publicly visible.
- Ask for strength in the soul. Many prayers ask God to change circumstances; this Psalm also asks God to multiply power inwardly.
- Let authority become humility. The higher the role, the more necessary the bow.
- Trust the right hand in affliction. Enemies may touch circumstances, but they cannot separate the faithful from God.
- Pray as God’s workmanship. “Overlook not the works of thine hands” is a prayer for God to complete what He began.
Teacher's Notes
- Timing: 10 minutes on the LXX heading and post-exilic restoration, 15 minutes on praise before the angels, 15 minutes on kings and humility, 15 minutes on affliction and the right hand saving.
- Where to linger: Augustine’s line, “My song is my joy,” and the difference between joy before men and joy before angels.
- Key phrase to say slowly: “thou shalt abundantly provide me with thy power in my soul.”
- Pastoral warning: do not make thanksgiving shallow. The Psalm’s thanksgiving comes after exile, affliction, and rescue.
Glossary
- Aggaeus and Zacharias: Greek forms of Haggai and Zechariah, prophets connected with post-exilic restoration and temple rebuilding.
- Confession: In patristic usage here, praise and thanksgiving, not only confession of sin.
- Before the angels: Worship offered in communion with the heavenly liturgy.
- Kings of the earth: Nations and rulers summoned to hear God’s words and confess Him.
- Right hand: Saving divine action, read Christologically by the Church.
Translation and Source Notes
Embedded Scripture is Brenton’s English Septuagint, Psalm 137. The study title uses NKJV Psalm 138 with LXX 137 in parentheses. Brenton’s LXX superscription reads, “A Psalm for David, of Aggaeus and Zacharias.” Local lectionary rows preserve printed Psalm 138 in Agpeya, Palm Sunday, Great Lent, Holy Fifty Days, Pentecost-related, and annual fixed-date contexts.
Sources
Primary sources: Brenton Septuagint, Psalm 137; Haggai 1-2; Zechariah 1-8; Ezra 5-6; Philippians 1:6; Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 2:13-14; John 17; Revelation 5; Hebrews 12:22-24.
Patristic sources: St Augustine, Exposition on Psalm CXXXVIII in NPNF1 volume 8 via CCEL; Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on Psalm 138; St Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus; St Gregory of Nyssa, On the Inscriptions of the Psalms.
Coptic Orthodox / liturgical sources: Coptic Orthodox lectionary lectionary references, Agpeya rows, curated special-service rows for Palm Sunday procession, Great Lent and Holy Fifty Days cycle rows, and date-resolved copticchurch.net rows for printed Psalm 138.